Wrench



P. F. KING.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5. I918.

Patented flat. 5, JIQZIIL Hmmm Brc/va PERCIVAL FAULKNER KING, OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

Application filed August 5, 1918. Serial No. 248,441.

To (:ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERGIVAL FAULKNER KING, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have inve ed certain new and useful renches, of which the is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wrenches, with more particular reference to those having an adjustable jaw co-acting with a rigid one whereby the wrench may be used for nuts of varying sizes, and the objcct of my invention is to provide device of this character in which the adjustment of the movable jaw is controlled entirely by gripping pressure exerted by the hand in which the wrench is held, thereby rendering unnecessary the use of extraneous adj usting means such as, for instance, the wellknown screw adjustment in common use and providing a wrench which is quickacting and convenient to use.

I attain this object by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a view of my device.

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a modification of the device.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

- 1 indicates the shank or stock of the wrench which is turned at right angles at its upper end to form the fixed jaw 2 after the manner common to wrenches of this class, while 3 indicates the adjustable jaw, which is slidably mounted on the shank 1 for ver tical movement thereon, the closing of which jaw on the jaw 2 being effected by the operation of links 1 and 5 extending between the jaw 3 and the heel of the shank 1, the link 4 being connected at one end to the aw, as at 6, and the link 5 to the heel as at 7, and both links being connected to each other by a pin 8, all as shown in Fig. 1. 9 indicates a spring disposed between the link 4 and the shank and normally in tension when the de vice is open to its full extent, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

To lock the jaw 3 in its adjusted positions a member 10 is pivotally mounted on a pin 11 secured into the side of the jaw, this member being preferably doubled over to st-ra ddle the rear edge of the aw and being pro vided on each side with a tooth 12 each of which is adapted to slide freely in grooves 13 formed in opposite sides of the shank or to engage notches 1 1 or 15, as the case may be, by the swinging of the member 10 about lts plvot, a trigger 16 being formed on the member for the manual operation of the same. There are two rows of notches 1 1 and 15 on each side of the shank, so there are four rows altogether, the tooth 12 on one side cooperating with the one pair and the tooth 12 on the opposite side cooperating with the otherpair, and as th notches in the rows are staggered with relation to each other, it will be evident that the jaw 3 may be adjusted to a nicety and securely locked against inadvertent retraction. The hole in the member 10 through which the pivot 11 extends may be round and a close working lit for the pivot, but it is preferable to make the hole slotted, as indicated at 17, so that a slight retracting movement of the jaw 3 is possible when the locking action takes place, thus throwing the strain on the teeth 12 instead of on the pivot, since the lower edges of the adjustable jaw then rest directly on the teeth.

The member 10 is constructed to possess a certain amount of inherent spring so that when the teeth are moved out of the grooves 13 to engage the notches on either one side or the other they will be retained in engage ment therewith by the inherent spring of the sides of the member, but in order to render positive the retaining of the member in the positions to which it may be moved it is preferably provided with a projection 18 on the inner face of one or both sides formed by a depression in the side, which projection co-acts with three grooves 19, 20 and 21 formed in the jaw and engages either the center one or the one on each side of it, according as the teeth 12 are engaged in the grooves 13 or moved to engage the notches 14 or 15 on either side.

In Fig. 2 a modified construction of the device is shown, the modification being in the form of the link 5 which, instead of forming a direct connection between the heel of the shank, is bent into substantially L-shape with the end of the short arm of the L bent up at right angles for connection to the heel as indicated by the nu meral 22 so that when the wrench is closed the upturned portion forms an extension of the shank and jointed to it by the pin 7 capable, however, of being swung to the rear of the shank by the expanding of the spring 9 which in this case bears on the long arm of the L-shaped link 22. The advantage of the modified form of the link is that it enables the spread of the links to be reduced when the wrench is open and kept within practical limits, as far as large wrenches are concerned, otherwise the construction and operation of the wrench shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

The shank of the device and the link 4- are preferably formed of hollowed construction so that the connecting link and the spring may lie therein.

The manner in which the wrench operates will be apparent, on reference being had to the drawings, as it will. be seen that, it the wrench be held inthe hand with the arts as indicated by the dotted lines in igs. 1 and 2, which shows the wrench with the jaws open, and the teeth 12 in the grooves 13, the gripping pressure exerted by the closing of the hand will tend to straighten out the links 4 and 5 and thereby move the jaw 3 toward the jaw 2 so that if there be a nut between the jaws it will be gripped tightly by the closing thereon of the adjustable jaw due to the gripping pressure of the hand on the links, the hold on the nut being then maintained securely by swinging the member 10 to one side or the other to engage the teeth 12 with the notches 14' or 15, as the case may be, thus preventing retraction of the jaw 3 and look ing it securely in the nut-gripping position. 7 I

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have devised a wrench which is simple in construction and in which the closing action is controlled by hand pressure on the gripping handle, thereby rendering it quick in action and of a highly convenient character.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an adjustable wrench, a shank having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw slidable on said shank, means operated by hand pressure for moving the adjustable jaw toward the fixed one, a manually controlled pawl member pivoted on said adjustable jaw and capable of lateral and vertical movement thereon, and parallel rows of staggered notches on said siank between which the point of said pawl is normally disposed and with which it is adapted to co-act when swung laterally to either site to lock the adjustable jaw in its adjusted positions.

2. In an adjustable wrench, a shank having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw slidable on said shank, means operated by hand pressure for moving the adjustable jaw toward the fixed one, spaced rows of staggered notches on said shank, and a manually controlled toothed member pivoted on said adjustable jaw the tooth of which is slidable between said rows of notches, said member being adapted for lateral movement to carry its tooth into engagement with the notches of either row and also adapted to then permit slight retraction of the adjustable jaw whereby the lower edge of the same rests upon the said tooth when locked,

Dated at Vancover, .B. Q, this 24th day of July, 1918.

PEROIVAL FAULKNER KENG. 

